Have you ever sought advice or help from someone you thought was a friend, only to find out they really weren't?
Jesus had a disciple named Judas. Jesus knew Judas was going to betray Him. In Matthew 26, you will find Judas in the act of betrayal but Jesus still calling him "friend".
In Matthew 27, you will find Judas realizing that what he had done was wrong. Immediately, he wanted to make things right with the people he made the deal with. These were people that he trusted. I would say they were people he considered his friends. I mean, they believed him enough to take his money and his word about Jesus. Maybe they would believe him when he told them that he was wrong.
Judas finds these "friends" and tries to make things right, but they basically said to him, "what is this to us? This is your problem that you will have to live with for the rest of your life". Judas was already troubled with guilt, and his confession to people who didn't care, made things worse. He then left and took his own life.
It made me think, could the outcome have been different if Judas would have gone to Jesus first, with his confession. Sure, Judas did wrong. Sure, there are consequences for the wrong that we do. But Jesus promises us that if we confess them to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us. (I John 1:9)
If Judas would have gone to Jesus first, and had been forgiven by Jesus first, would the response from the so-called friends have affected his decision to take his life?
How often do we confess or run to others first before running to Jesus? Human advice will always be human advice, but going to Jesus first could actually save our life.
How often do we take advice from others, lean on it, and then make a decision based off of it without consulting Jesus first? These decisions could affect our life presently and in the future. Sometimes we run to others first, simply because they have experience. But if we run to Jesus first, He can lead us to the right person who could give is the right advice and help.
Jesus is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24) Jesus will always, forgive, cleanse and give Life.
Why do we neglect going to Jesus FIRST? He has proven Himself to be a TRUE friend, by giving up His very own life, FIRST.
There is rest in going to Jesus first!
Every decision affects our lives, physically and spiritually.
Every decision affects our rest, physically and spiritually.
Have a confession? Have a decision? Run to Jesus FIRST!
This is where the Rest is!
The picture above is a picture I took of a sunset. The sun reminded me of a dotted " i". It also reminded me of the Son of God, Who is Jesus and Who says, " I am the way, the truth and the Life". Let's run to Jesus FIRST. He will never lead us astray.
Comment below: How has this encouraged you today?
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